Westpac
Banking Corporation has restructured its technology leadership, shifting chief information officer Clive Whincup into an innovation role after it completed the first phase of its mammoth $2 billion strategic investment program.

The reshuffle, which took place shortly before Christmas, saw Mr Whincup step back from managing day-to-day technology services in favour of mapping out forward-looking technology priorities at the big four bank.

The bank’s general manager of investments and business partnering,
Les Vance
, was given the newly created role of chief operating officer of technology to oversee general operations.

Both will report to the chief operating officer, John Arthur.

The restructure has seen chief technology officer Jeff Jacobs made redundant after six years at the bank.

Sources close to Westpac said the restructure could foreshadow a replacement for Mr Whincup in the CIO role.

“When you move people internally in that matter it means you’re going to look for someone external," said one person familiar with the moves.

But they said the new role could allow the bank to better respond to criticisms in recent years of a slow-moving technology program.

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“Clive will lead the new Innovation & Strategy and Enterprise Architecture functions and will be accountable for developing the strategic roadmap for Westpac’s future technology requirements along with further building a culture of innovation across the group," the spokeswoman said in a statement.

Westpac chief executive
Gail Kelly
said in November the first phase of the bank’s strategic program to upgrade its technology systems was complete. It saw the consolidation of data centres and ageing systems.

The second phase, to be managed by Mr Whincup in his new role, would run until 2017, and see the bank begin to upgrade its core banking systems in competition with the other banks.